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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

So we have a dog named Otie. He is part Anatolian Shepard, which means he protects livestock.

Wait...

I HAVE livestock!

Took a while for the old noggin to pick that one up.

So I finally decided to introduce him to the goats and chickens.

He did great!

Goats were a bit pissed that there was a common, filthy canine in their pure pristine caprine pad, but they'll get over it.

I am hoping that Otie will guard the goats and such once the fence is installed. He loves to lay up there as it is and keep an eye out for trespassers of the predacious kind. I have been spoiling him up there and letting the goats out with him, and he has just been Mr. manners.

I so hope he will work for me.

Please, accept the job! There will be bones, and bully sticks...

That would just be icing. He won't even come into the house at night anymore, so I am hoping that he will take to his job and sleep in the barn with his charges, at least.

We'll see.

M made a new friend at Earth Scouts.

We went over for a play date, and really it was a fantabulous play date.

M and her new friend, played almost the whole time uninterrupted.

There was a hot tub

in which to entertain the guys,

M had to get in on that, too!

There was lots of

Art!

There was even another 3 year old for E to butt heads with.

I love when things like this are quite enjoyable for us all. Just a good day!

About how maybe I have not been including my kids in my everyday existence. I mean they are ALWAYS included, I mean heck we are always doing things together.

All the time.

But I mean like everyday things that I tend to do solo like cooking and cleaning. You know meaningful tasks that benefit the entire household. Maybe it would do wonders for their self worth, that they made a difference in the day to day workings of our household. I am not really talking chores here, but pitching in, being busy in a very meaningful and appreciated way.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

We harvested some potatos, and ate them all too. They were so good with some simple EVOO and garlic. Can't wait to harvest the purple fingerlings!

I found a great blog post of a boy who unschooled his whole life, and then decided to go to school for one year. Thankfully, he blogged about his experience. It is most descriptive, enlightening, and so very insightful. Enjoy the read!-K

Sunday, July 27, 2008

So my on the lam chickens have decided to return home. All of them, uneaten. Well, until we can fence the perimeter of the pasture up in barn territory, we have fenced in a small yard for them to eat bugs and be a little free. Goats were ever so helpful...

And we adopted 3 of these cuties!

I was picking up food at the local feed store and I heard that there was a lady who was looking to adopt out Muscovy ducks. They look like this, as adults.

Well, I was game!

We headed over, and M picked out three wee ducklings who are now taking residence in the chicken coop with no problems.

So thier names are as followed. M named hers, Rosie, E named his Tiger, and K's duck is named, Nothing Really! No really, Nothing Really is it's name.

I like it!

The woman who gave us the ducks also happened to run a greyhound rescue. I was always very curious about them, and man, they are super sweet. I bet we'll get one in a few years. They were just very happy dogs, and quite beautiful. She had 15! These are the 4 that we hung out with for a while.

Hmm.. well, we swam,

We try and do that every Saturday.

swimming, swimming, just keep swimming...

What do we do, we swim!

Rode on some horses

M was pretty much on her own,

K asked to barrel race,

so they taught him how to do an obstacle course with bottles

Kids had guitar, and shamefully, I can't recall what ever else went on.

We started Sunday with breakfast at the diner, It was GOOOD! Lot's of chocolate chip pancakes, and eggs benedict for me! We headed to a local trail for a family hike. It was a beautiful spot, and of course I forgot my damn camera! K found a red eft there last week!

(google images)

I looked for my entire teenage and young adult life to find one. I am so glad K spotted it. It was quite lovely, and so different from it's later life stage the Eastern Newt.

Instead of that slick newt skin, the eft stage's was rough. It was so cool.

SO cool.

The rest of the day we cleaned up the yard, and decluttered and did laundry. I plan on being lazy for the rest of the day, in case your wondering. I plan on copious amounts of TV, and maybe some beer.-K

Friday, July 25, 2008

It's been forever since I did any sort of decent post, but we have been busy, and honestly, I just didn't have it in me.

But, look! I have real boots now, so it's all good

Anyway, I sat at the computer a couple of times and looked at the blank screen in front of me and said, screw this.

Sometimes you just don't want to.

But tonight, although it's getting late, I am committed to posting something.

Ok, so remember that snake with the ring that never got caught because it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Well, we finally caught it!

It was fun, and he was a super sweet character. We have to be on the look out because they found a large copperhead population in a town very close to us, and Timber rattlers are making a comeback in CT. I would, however, be very excited to spot either and point them out to the kids. That would just be phenomenal.

A came home from work with a borrowed DVD set of Little house on the Prairie volume one. M has been viewing in full regalia.

There has been quite a bit of pioneering going on in their play.

E's banjo appeared and he is smitten. He walks around singing and plucking.

Always sans clothing. E hardly wears clothes unless we are leaving the property. He is just a free guy. He likes to feel the wind and sun, where the sun doesn't usually shine.

He is all about nakeyness.

This is E rockin out. I cut it in two videos:

Part two:

K's guitar came at last,

and there have been many impromptu jams going on.

and duals

and stuff.

We have had friends over for toad searches.

Naked Shark learning

relaxing

Art is always a given.

Today, we finally brought home the Turkeys.

They are actually quite calm and sweet.

I think I like them more than chickens. Which is good because I think I lost two of these chickens

and this rooster.

I thought I would be all nice and let them out to free range a bit. And get this! They friggin ran away.

Into the woods.

The rooster just cocka- doodle- doo'd while I tried to chase his butt in to the barn. The hens are who knows where? I left the barn door open so they can get their feathered butts home, but I don't know. I don't know if chickens can like walk around in the dark and stuff. When was the last time you saw a night walking chicken?-K

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

It was long day yesterday awaiting for the phone call assuring his safe arrival. Too bad he lives so stinking far away.

Like an 11 hr plane ride far away.

I can't wait to meet you in person someday soon. For now, I will resign myself to watch you grow through photos. Boy, how life will change for my bro and his wife, and how better it will be. I wish you all the best in life, little boy. You already are doing alright. your face alone brings us such joy. Congratulations, B and M, he is something to look at.-K

I did absolutely nothing but get randomly chosen. But all along I was sure I was going to win.

Well, well, you never know when that's gonna happen. And unlike the lotto, I still got my dollar and my dream. But really folks, you DO have to be in it to win it. Evie is always hosting some cool thing or other. She made me a winner, not once, in her science fair, but now twice with the picka- photo. Only love and all good things can be found on her blog. I am ever grateful that I stumbled across it. Thanks Whimsi, for showering me with your good vibe. I will think of you whenever I enter the W/C.-K

Sunday, July 20, 2008

So I am going to do an overdue what's going on around here post. We have been holding steady and things are going well. I would really like to increase the goat herd a bit next spring. I am hoping that Mini, our registered Nigerian will give us a doe come spring.

If our mini mancha Leyla has a boy, I would like to whether him and keep him around to help me detect when the girls go into heat.

I am trying to track them, but man they are so subtle about it. The goats turned out to be one of my favorite animals. They are so sweet and playful. They are like a dog but you get dairy products to boot!

The chickens are doing pretty well.

We have had two deaths in the past week and a half. One being a young meat chick that I discovered one evening. It seems that they can suffer sudden death from a heart condition that they are predisposed to. Yesterday, in the laying coop I found a dead young chicken. I think he may have been squished in a corner by the others, or perhaps coccidia. I will treat everyone just to be sure. Other than those two incident, the rest are doing fine.On the 25th we pick up our Turkeys. I am wondering how that will go. I guess I will learn as I go, turkeys are a bit different than chickens.

We'll see.

The garden is going much better now. We had so much rain, and not enough heat and things were just not going well.

Finally, we have turned the corner, but we did lose the watermelons, and carrots, pattypan squash, onions and garlic, which I will start again today.

The rest looks pretty darn good

The orchard is doing well, the tree's are still so young, it will be a few years before we are lucky enough to get fruit from them. We did lose a cherry, a peach and one apple, which we will replace next year. Hopefully next year we will get some bee's, and that will really help the garden and trees out. I cannot wait for this place to fill out some more.

For our first year, we have learned a bit. We have a lot more to go, but you know what, you can't really learn unless you do.-K